This is the time of year when violets are flowering. You can use THIS KEY to New York species to help you identify them. If you are also seeing willows and ignoring them because they are too hard to identify try THIS KEY by David Werier to help you out. Have fun in the field! – Steve Young

Printed in vibrant color on waterproof and tear-resistant Tyvek, this revised, digitally-produced five-map set is a must-have for outdoor enthusiasts interested in exploring the trails and open space in the Palisades region of New York and New Jersey. For more information and ordering CLICK HERE.

The California Flora project has a neat app to report observations of any of their species in California. According to their website: This application makes it easy for you to report the species name, date, and location of over 10,000 California native and non-native plant taxa. You can also add a photograph to a report, and share it with others later to confirm identification. Your reports are transmitted wirelessly to the Calflora database, where you can edit them and see them on a map. To read more about it CLICK HERE. The Bay Area Early Detection Network uses it to map invasive plants. Below is a 9 minute video of how that works. The app demonstration starts at minute 2:15. Would it be useful to have something like this for the New York Atlas?

The NY Natural Heritage Program and environmental firm Tetra Tech are teaming up this summer to assess the condition of various wetlands across New York for the EPA. The project began with wetlands in the Adirondacks, continues on to Western New York, and finishes on Long Island. Below are some photos from the work in the Adirondacks. – Steve Young

Each site requires lots of equipment to sample the vegetation in five 100 meter square plots along with soil samples. Some sites are close to roads. Others require some bushwhacking with backpacks.